1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of this invention relate generally to a pillow, and more particularly to an orthopedic pillow designed to support the neck in a physiologically neutral spinal position.
2. Description of Related Art
The following art defines the present state of this field:
U.S. Pat. No. 1,385,355 to Banks is directed to an improvement in pillows or the like consisting of a middle compartment and two lateral compartments for the purpose of providing a clinical accessory which is not only hygienic and orthopedic in any of the three (3) usual horizontal positions in which the body may be placed when using the subject pillow, but also capable of allowing the user to enjoy the maximum amount of physical and mental comfort, whether reposing upon the dorsum or upon the right or left side while using the pillow.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,227 to Reed is directed to an adjustable, contoured pillow designed for the purpose of accommodating a human being and is particularly adapted to conform to the general configuration of a person's body from the shoulders up by means of inflatable cores.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,940,088 to Boos is directed to a pillow formed on its top surface with head and neck receiving portions and lateral cheek receiving concavities for the purpose of allowing the user, when lying on his back, to be in a position which affords maximum relaxation while also accommodating the user's cheeks when sleeping on his side.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,243,828 to McCarthy is directed to a pillow that can be individually tailored to accommodate any given person's orthopedic cervical support requirements whether sleeping on the back or side by providing a single body member within which various inserts may be installed to create a pillow having the desired thickness and resilience.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,310 to Greenwalt is directed to a pillow constructed to provide firm support to the neck portion of an individual while providing less firm support to the head portion, the pillow comprising a pair of firm outer members and a less firm intermediate member, the upper and lower surfaces of the intermediate member being coextensive with the upper and lower surfaces of the outer members respectively, the upper and lower surfaces of the outer members tapering laterally away from the intermediate member to form a convexly curved outer edge.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,308 to Greenwalt is directed to an elevated traction pillow having, in side view, a substantially triangular configuration. The pillow extends in length from proximate the sacrum to above the head of the user and is comprised of a firm support member and a head-receiving member. The support member comprises all of the triangular configuration except for the apex thereof wherein the head-receiving member is secured. The head-receiving member is comprised of material offering negligible resistance when receiving the head of an individual. In a preferred embodiment, a cervical spine support, i.e., neck support, is formed on the firm support member adjacent the head-receiving member and extends upwardly of the firm support member.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,757,365 to Kretchmer is directed to a pillow configured as a flat substantially rectangular block of material that is more resilient on its upper top layer and is less resilient on its lowermost layer. It is substantially rectangular overall, but has a cutout in at least one of the longer rectangular sides, although this cutout may be repeated in the opposite rectangular side. The cutout is substantially circular, more or less, and is not greater than a semi-circle, although it may be somewhat less than a semi-circle, the cutout serving to receive the sleeper's shoulder with the attached arm extendable beyond the pillow and not subject to any pressure from the pillow, being entirely free thereof, and, of course, free of any pressure from the sleeper's head. The thickness of the pillow is such that the sleeper's head is supported in a horizontal position, with the neck and windpipe free of any bends. As a result, breathing is freer than with a conventional pillow, where the arm often extended under the pillow attempting to hold the head horizontal, in which it often fails, but such does succeed in restricting the blood flow in the arm, leading to a condition strongly resembling bursitis in pain and restriction of arm movement, a painful condition not easily remedied.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,792 to Kogan is directed to an orthopedic pillow made of a block of cellular material having the consistence of a latex foam and having, as seen in plan, substantially the shape of a rectangle or a trapezium, the large side or the large base of which is formed with a concave frontal curvature, the top of the block bounding a concavity in the medium portion of the curved edge and said concavity being continued by a recess.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,599 to Hannouche is directed to a cervical pillow having a shoulder engaging portion, an occiput engaging portion, and a neck engaging portion therebetween. The cervical pillow provides continuous support from the shoulder portion to the occipital portion of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,261 to Marrow is directed to a composite head and neck cushion for use by a person in a supine position. The cushion includes a first, resilient member having an upper surface which conforms to and supports the physiologic curvature of the cervical vertebrae. A second member supports the head in a raised, but unflexed position. The invention may alternatively be described as a method for cushioning the head and neck. The method comprises (1) resiliently supporting the back of the neck of the person in an elevated position while permitting the cervical vertebrae to maintain their normal, physiologic curvature, and (2) supporting the head of the person in an elevated position while maintaining the cervical vertebrae and the occiput in an unflexed, physiologic position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,007 to Davis is directed to a pillow of resilient material having a generally rotatable portion (cervical roll) for supporting the cervical region of a user. With a user's neck received across the pillow cervical roll and the user's head received on the pillow, rotation of the cervical roll in conjunction with collapse of angled chambers defined within the resilient pillow establishes traction in the cervical region of the user. Once its internal chambers are essentially fully collapsed, the pillow provides a generally continuous support medium for optimized resilient support of the user's neck and head, while maintaining a degree of cervical region traction with natural cervical curvature achieved through curved support of the user's cervical region across the cervical roll of the pillow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,132 to Dixon is directed to an anti-snoring pillow which reduces the snoring by the user when sleeping by positioning the head of the user such that the degree of blockage in the user's breathing passageway is reduced. The anti-snoring pillow includes a base member which is preferably inclined and has a curved front edge which is lower in height than the rear edge. The upper surface of the base member adjacent the front edge has an elongated bolster secured thereto, which bolster is curved along its length to conform to the curved shape of the front edge of the base member. The bolster also includes a curved peripheral cross-sectional area for comfortable support of a user's neck. The bolster and the base member, and the choice of materials therefor, act in conjunction to ensure comfort and also the positioning of a user's head so as to decrease the blockage of the user's breathing passageway when the user is in a back or in a side sleeping position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,832 to Tatum is directed to a U-shaped pillow providing for the maximization of the cross-sectional area of the air passage of the user at the level of the oropharynx. The user's head is extended backwards in the supine position with the natural curvature of the neck being supported by a supine neck resting portion and the user's occiput resting directly against the underlying mattress. Additionally the pillow has elevated lateral head and neck resting portions and sloped transitional neck resting portions, all structured so that when a user rolls between the supine and lateral decubitus positions the user's thoracic and cervical spine are maintained substantially aligned.
U.S. Pat. No. D370,819 to Bonaddio is directed to an ornamental design for a neck roll pillow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,564 to Greenwalt is directed to a therapeutic pillow for supporting the head and neck of a person lying in a supine position. The pillow comprises three types of material, each having differing degrees of firmness; a first material having in cross-section a U-shaped form with one end wider than the other end, a second material having a separated pair of end portions of equal width, respectively, with the first material end portions and secured thereto, respectively to form curved ends of the pillow and the third material having a rectangular shape of a size to fit into the open center portion formed by the first and second materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,708,998 to Torbik is directed to a pillow providing proper cervical support whether the sleeper is on his back or on his side. Side sections including cutouts on the left and right of the pillow provide clearance for the airways during side sleeping, and a multi-level construction provides the proper head and neck support for either back or side sleeping positions. A high quality fiber is used in rolled and layered sections to provide comfort for the sleeper and resiliency of the pillow over prolonged use. Dual neck rolls of different diameters allow two sleepers of different neck sizes to alternately use the same pillow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,267 to Keilhauer is directed to a therapeutic sleeping pillow for a user that is generally rectangular with longer front and rear edges and a pair of shorter side edges and upper and lower surfaces. A central portion of the upper surface is provided with a cavity for receiving the user's head, with a neck-supporting ridge formed between the front edge of the pillow and the cavity in the central portion. A wedge-shaped extension of the pillow projects from the front edge to support the upper back of the user. At least one of the pair of shorter side edges has an extension disposed thereon. Each such side extension is provided with a relatively shallow central cavity on the upper surface for receiving and supporting the user's head and a front edge for supporting the user's neck. The upper surface of each such side extension slopes generally downwardly from the front edge towards the rear edge.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,066 to Backlund is directed to a pillow made of resilient material and including a top side and bottom side which delimit a head section for supporting a user's head. The pillow has at least one elongated neck section adjoined to the head section wherein the upper side of the neck section is higher than the head section. The pillow is also provided with a resilient material having a channel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,312 to Walpin is directed to an orthopedic pillow that comprises several components of varying densities, which in combination provide improved and more immediate comfortable support for the head and neck region, while enhancing the multi-alignment features for the spine, head, and neck of a user in back-lying and side-lying body positions, and do not require the user to endure a break-in period to allow the pillow to conform to the shape of the user's head. The pillow comprises a firm core comprising a first and second lengthwise edge, a top surface, and a bottom surface; a recess located on the top surface of the core; a layer of soft, viscoelastic foam located within the recess; a layer of soft, Dacron fiber located along a top surface of the layer of foam; and a soft, C-shaped layer of viscoelastic foam wrapped around the core, whereby the C-shaped layer of foam covers the first lengthwise edge of the core, the bottom surface of the core, and the second lengthwise edge of the core.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,401 to Frydman is directed to an adjustable orthopedic support pillow which includes a contoured top layer, a plurality of supporting layers, each having tongue-and-groove structures to enable the contoured layer to be removably supported by one or more additional supporting layers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,784 to Davis is directed to a pillow having raised ribs which are angled at an acute angle with respect to a bottom surface of the pillow and define the upper surface of the pillow contacted by the user's head and neck. The angled ribs provide traction forces to the head and neck of the user. The ribs vary in thickness in the longitudinal direction along which a person's spine is oriented. The pillow preferably has a rear portion for supporting a person's head and a front portion for supporting a person's neck, and the ribs on the rear portion are upwardly inclined toward the rear edge of the pillow and the ribs on the front portion are upwardly inclined toward the front edge of the pillow, so that traction forces on the head and neck are exerted in opposite directions. The pillow preferably also includes a forward extension portion adapted to support the lower neck and central upper back region between the shoulder blades, the extension portion being substantially narrower than the main body portion and also having the angled ribs.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,279 to Vaughn is directed to a neck supporting pillow for maintaining a clear air passage through a user's neck while the user is sleeping. The neck supporting pillow includes a pillow comprising an outer wall having opposed side ends and a concave top side, and further includes an inner wall, an internally-disposed inner chamber, and an internally-disposed outer chamber being separated from the inner chamber with the inner wall and having an upper compartment and a lower compartment being separated by an annular divider; and further includes a plurality of support members which are essentially planar and made of fabric material, each of the support members extending at a slant from the inner wall to a respective side end of the outer wall; and also includes a plurality of valve member disposed in and through the inner wall to control flow of liquid or air between the inner chamber and the outer chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,726 to Wang is directed to an ergonomic pillow comprising a body including an inclined surface on either side, an arcuate central recess, and a slope near either side extended from the inclined surface to the recess so that either slope has the highest elevation on a top surface of the body; a front lengthwise projection member having a front slant extended from a bottom of the body adjacent to the recess; first and second cavities on the bottom of the body adjacent to either side and disposed corresponding to either slope; and an elongate third cavity at an underside of the projection member having the same orientation as the projection member. The pillow appropriately support face, ear, spine and shoulder for relaxing head and spine of a user in face-up or side sleeping.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,809 to Rathbun is directed to a pillow that supports a person's head while the person sleeps on their side and does not induce any pressure to a person's face. The pillow includes a body which has a first body portion and a second body portion extending from the first body portion. The first body portion is substantially rectangular-shaped and provides a base for the second body portion. The second body portion defines at least one recess and is positioned such that a plurality of recesses extend from the sides of the pillow towards a lower section of the second body portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,629,324 to Shapiro is directed to a pillow specifically designed to avoid pressure on the ears, lobes and cartilage and to evenly distribute pressure on the other surfaces of the face. Its top surface is contoured such that the curvature of the head and neck is accommodated. The ears are protected by the presence of recesses in the top surface of the pillow which are shaped similarly to the ear with one generally arcuate side and one generally flat side and positioned somewhat closer to the front edge of the pillow. The recesses are of sufficient size and depth so that as a person lies his head on one side with one ear positioned in a recess, there is no pressure on the ear, its lobe, or cartilage. The pillow is especially effective for reducing the pain of recovery from lobe or cartilage piercings.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,668,404 to Lanteri is directed to a device for maintaining the body, for use as a pillow, that includes at least one surface for supporting the head and a central clearance defining two side surfaces extending the support surface. The pillow has a length not less than the body measurements of an adult user from the lower ribs to the ear, thereby adjusting the pillow support surface on the body in all positions of use.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,906 to Milligan is directed to an adjustable pillow having an upper housing comprising a plurality of compartments, a plurality of support elements and a lower housing secured to the upper housing to keep the support elements inside the upper housing is disclosed. The support elements are configured to be positioned within one of the compartments. Each compartment has a height that is adjustable by varying the number of support elements positioned within the compartment. Preferably, the compartments include a neck support compartment, a head support compartment and a pair of side support compartments.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,704,958 to Gohl is directed to a pillow, in particular for use in the context of therapeutic measures, having a pillow body made of an elastically deformable material, in which several loudspeakers can be positioned and which forms a support surface on its upper side, which is characterized in that the loudspeakers are retained in a rail made of an elastically deformable material, and the rail is detachably inserted into a corresponding recess on the underside of the pillow body.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,207 to Brown is directed to a contoured pillow including a top, a bottom, a front, a back and opposite sides. The front slopes forwardly from bottom-to-top and changes laterally in depth from side-to-side for cradling and supporting the shoulder. A neck support extension projects upwardly from the top and front and provides enhanced neck support due to the sloping configuration of the front. The top includes a recess forming a face relief pocket, right and left jaw relief areas, right and left airways extending from the jaw relief areas to the sides and a cranial support ridge. The pillow is molded from memory foam with thermally responsive characteristic for shaping itself to a particular user in conjunction with the generally concave geometry designed to give way to a generally spherical facial structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,763,538 to Tsai is directed to a pillow that mainly includes two side frames, at least one crosspiece firmly engaged at two outer ends with locating holes provided at two opposite inner sides of the two side frames, and a plurality of round bars extended between the two side frames with respective outer ends rotatably inserted into insertion holes correspondingly spaced along outer edges of the two opposite inner sides of the side frames. With a predetermined clearance existed between any two adjacent insertion holes, the round bars inserted thereinto are adapted to form rotatable and air-pervious supporting surfaces on the pillow.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,817,049 to Hall is directed to a triune, substantially bilaterally symmetrical pillow for a reclining human being is configured to provide therapeutic and support and comfort for the head and neck while lying on one's back and side, and allow use in two, opposite orientations to increase durability and functional capacity. A center section is provided with a thin portion, abutted on either side along one axis by two substantially similar convex portions, and abutted on either side along a second axis normal to the first by two substantially identical flat end sections. The end sections have cutaways near the bottoms of their sides, to either side of their connections to the center section, that are designed to accommodate the shoulder of a human user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,823,546 to Hsu is directed to an ergonomical massaging pillow comprising a pillow body having at least one side being a cavity and the surface of the pillow body provided with a plurality of extendable slits; and an insertion rod mounted within the cavity and having a plurality of connectable sections with various hardness and softness and the surface of the insertion rod being a plurality of recesses so that a plurality of protrusions are formed on the surface of the insertion rod and the size of the protrusions and the recesses depend greatly on the weight of the spinal cord of the user. When the pillow is used, the protrusions and the slot will be deformed based on the weight of the spinal cord of the user. The harder protrusion provides a massaging effect to the spinal cord of the user.
The prior art described above teaches a variety of pillows, but does not teach a pillow having a horizontal top layer extending from a lengthwise roll portion and suspended over a hollow core so as to cradle the head of a user when lying on the pillow in the supine position and thereby provide gentle traction to the neck. Aspects of the present invention fulfill these needs and provide further related advantages as described in the following summary.